This management handbook explains why it is important to look closely at failures, and what can be learnt from them. It includes anecdotes, exercises, practical tips and examples, including how to choose a board of directors. The value of risk taking is explained, and there are also case studies of failures. The authors focus on the "Pollyanna Syndrome", a growing phenomenon in which large companies feel invincible and thus refuse to change. There are also action points designed to stimulate companies out of their inertia and back to the future.